Display apparatus.



B. B. BIENHOFF. DISPLAY APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED 0011.22, 1909.

`Patented Feb. 7, 911.

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B. B. BIBNHOFP.

DISPLAY APPARATU PLIOAT 9 A1 10N FILED 00T. 2

Patented Feb. 7, 1911.

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B. B. BI-ENHOPF. DISPLAY APPARATUS.A APPLIUATION FILED 00122, 1909.

Patented Febi'?, 1911.

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B'. B. BIENHOPP. DISPLAY APPARATUS. APPLIGATION FILED 00T. 22, 1909.

983,344. Patented Feb. 7, 1911.

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BENJAMIN B. BIENHOFF, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESTA.

DISPLAY APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN B. BIEN- Horr, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State ofMinnesota, have invented a new and useful Improvement in DisplayApparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in display apparatus and moreparticularly to apparatus of its kind which is employed for advertisingpurposes and for displaying goods.

This invention employs a series of flexible signs which are adapted tobe. turned one at a time leaving exposed to view a succeeding signbearing an advertisement upon its surface.

My invention also contemplates displaying rugs and other objects which Iconsider the full equivalent of the term signs used in the followingspecification and claims.

Among the primary objects of my invention are simplicity ofconstruction, and effectiveness of action in an apparatus which isadapted t0 display a maximum number of signs within a minimum space.

Among further objects is to produce a` device for accomplishing theresults attained which is driven by a minimum amount of power and whichis entirely automatic and positive in operation. This invention withoutvarying the driving element can be modified in operation so as to alterthe period of changing the signs as desired and has among its featuresdistinctive from prior devices the turning of each sign completely overwhen it is removed from the exposure aperture in the inclosing frame.

The invention further employs a plurality of cooperating carriers, onebeing used to first lift each sign away from the aperture and the otherto which the sign is transferred from the first for turning the signover and depositing it at the back end of a series of signs to bedisplayed.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, Figure1 is a vertical section in side elevation of my invention; 2 is a frontelevation on a reduced scale from that illustrated in Fig. 1, part ofthe inclosing frame being broken away to expose part of the interiormechanism to view, the line upon which the section illustrated in Fig. 1is taken being indicated by X-X; Fig. 3 is a plan view, the cover beingSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed Getober 22, 1909.

Patented Feb. *7, 1911.

Serial No. 524,041.

removed and part of the inclosing frame over the driving gear brokenaway; Fig. 4 is a detail side sectional view similar to Fig. 1illustrating an alternative construction; Fig. 5 is a front sectionalview of a detail, the section being taken on the line Z-Z of Fig. t;Fig. 6 is a side view of a detail showing part of the driving gear, thecover over the same being removed; Fig. 7 is a plan of a detail of myinvention the cover of the frame being removed, and Fig. 8 is a backview, the back of the inclosing frame being removed.

In the drawings A represents an inclosing frame in the form of a hollowparallelopiped having a front 2, fioor 3, back t, top 5 and two sides 6and 7 The front of the inclosing frame has an aperture 8 in which may beplaced a pane of glass 9 through which the signs E are exposedsuccessively p or the rugs or other goods which are to be displayed areadapted to be displayed. It will be understood that the frame may bechanged in construction to suit the requirements of the signs or goodsto be displayed and that it is not necessary to have an aperture coveredby glass as described. Upon the side walls are mounted two forwardly anddownwardly inclining supports 10 and 11 which are formed with verticalfianges 12 adjacent to the side walls. The foremost ends of thesesupports have guards 13 secured to the flanges 12 so as to formforwardly declining channels 111. Adjoining the foremost ends of thesupports are two vertical stops 15 and 16 which are in the form ofplates.

The supports 10 and 11 are employed to hold a series of rods B whichcarry the signs to be displayed through the apertured front of theinclosing frame and the rods B are held from any greater lateralmovement than the distance between the flanges 12. The distance betweenthe flanges 12 at the rear of the supports 10 and 11 being greater thanat the front of said supports keeps the rods B from binding at the rearof the supports 10 and 11 and as the supports 10 and 11 decline towardthe aperture, said rods feed downwardly by gravity as fast as the rod infront with its sign is removed. (See Figs. 1, 3 and 7.) The stops 15 and16 immediately adjacent to the foremost ends of the supports 10 and 11are spaced from the lower ends of the guards 13 so as to leave anopening for the foremost rod to be lifted off of the supports. At theinner edges of the upper ends of the V-supports 10 and l1 is a pair ofupwardly extending guide shoulders .18' having forwardly declining edges19 which serve to prevent the rods B after they have been lifted fromthe foremost end of the series `of rods on the supports and passed tothe back end of the series, from slipping off of the supports byaccident. The line of travel of each rod B from the front of the serieso-r stack is first up, then back, then down, then up again and then downupon the upper ends' of the supports. Thus a continuous series ofexposures of the signs are made through lthe apertures. Each rod B isformed with an annular groove 32 near eachend for the purposes to behereinafter described and has attached thereto the sign E by splitrivets 76 passing through perforations 77 in the sign and rod. The signE while `following theline of travel of the rod on which it is mountedrolls completely over, and in this manner greater economy of space iseected in the frame.

The means for causing the rods B and their signs E to follow the line oftravel as indicated above consists of two coperating carriers C and D.The carrier C is employed for liftingpthe rods off of the supports andthe carrier D for carrying the rods back to the rear end of the serieson the supports after each has beenlifted. The carrier C consists of twovertical link belts or chains 20 and 21 located on opposite sides of theframe and traveling in the direction of the arrows illustrated in Fig. 1over drive sprockets 22 and idle sprockets The sprockets 22 are rigidlymounted upon a horizontal drive shaft 24 which extends across theinclosing frame, its ends being journaled in the sides 6 and 7. The idlesprockets 23 are freely journaled upon gudgeons 25 which are mountedupon plates 26. These plates are secured to the sides 6 and 7 by meansof screws 27 passing -through slots 28, this form of connectionpermitting the plates to slide vertically upon the sides. VThe lowerends of the plates are formed with hooks 29 to which are secured weights30. These weights j draw down upon the gudgeon supports and take up theslack of the link belts 20 and 21 as they travel in the frame. The linksof the belts 20 and 21 have secured thereto flights 31, one flight beingshown upon each of said belts and the two flights as shown beingopposite each other and lifted upward by the innermost laps of the beltsto engage the ends of the rods B in the grooves 32 and raise saidvrodsoftI of said supports.

f Each rod B'as it is raised by the carrier C toward the upper end oftravel of the belts 20 and 21 is transferred on to an auxiliary carrierD, which will be hereinafter described. Previous to the flights 31engaging the rods B they pass through guide openings 81 in the forwardend of the supports 10 and 11 so that the flight 31 will always engagethe rods B in the center of the grooves 32 thus raising the rods B inposition so that they can be removed by the carrier D and insure perfectoperation (see Figs. 1, 5 and 7 The distance between the stops 15 and 16and the guards 18, produce passageways 33 through which only one rod ata time can be raised off of the supports. As many flights 31 may heplaced upon the belts 20 and 21 as desired, the numberbeing varied andpositioned according to the time it is desired that each sign shall beexposed through the aperture, in front of the inclosing frame.

The auxiliary carrier D consists of a pair of link belts 40 and 41 whichare placed upon the sides of the inclosing frame, the belts 20 and 21and 40 and 41 respectively traveling in adjacent parallel planes, thebelts 40 and 41 heilig placed a little closer to the sides of theinclosing frame than the belts 2O and 21. The belts 40 and 41 travelover the pairs of sprockets 42 and 43 above the foremost ends ofthesupports 10 and 11 and thence horizontally toward the back of theinclosing frame and over the idle sprockets 46 then down and around thelower idle sprockets 44 and 45 then up and over the idle sprockets 47which are located justabove the rear ends of the supports 10 and 11 andthen to the sprockets 42 and 43. The direction of travel of the belts 40and 41 is indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. The sprockets 42 and 43 arerigidly mounted upon the transverse power shaft 48, the ends of whichare journaled in the sides of the frame. rlhe idle sprockets 46 and 47are respectively journaled upon gudgcons 49 and 50 which are secured tothe side of theinclosing frame on plates 85. Depending from the innerends of the supports 10 and 11 are hangers 51 and 52, each of whichcarries upon its lower end a block These blocks are held upon the sidesof the iuclosing frame by screws 54 passing through vertical guide slotsin them. The co11 nection between each block and its adjacent arm is bymeans of a rivet 56 through a vertical slot 57 which permits of slidingengagement between said hangers and blocks. The back edges of the blockshave upwardly projecting guard arms 58. The' blocks 53 carry gudgeons 59upon which are freely journaled the idle sprockets 44 and 45. rlheblocks act as weights to take up the slack of the belts 40 and 41. Saidhangers 51 and arms 58 act as guards for the ends of the rods B to keepthem in the flights 61 and 62 as the signs are carried to the rear ofthe supports 10 and 11. The shaft 5S) has journaled thereon a carrierroller 60 which assists in causing cach sheet. to turn conipletely overwhen it is being moved by the belts 40 and L11.

The belts t0 and l1 support a pair of oppositely disposed flights 61 and62 each of which is rigidly secured to one of the links on the insideand is formed with a pocket 63. The flights 61 and 62 are connected by arod 86 which is loosely journaled in said flights directly under thepockets 63 and serves to steady the flights on the belts Zl() and 41.These flights 61 and 62 engage the ends of the rods B when in raisedposition on the carrier C as illustrated in Fig. 1 and the speed andlength of travel of the belts l() and 41 being greater than the surfacespeed and travel of the belts 2O and 21 causes them to remove the rodsfrom the .flights 31 and carr f them back in a horizonb tal direction,then downwardly over the path of travel indicated by the arrows in Fig.1 of the belts 40 and 41. As the rods are raised. on the inner laps ofthe belts 40 and i411 and carried over the idle sprockets 17, they dropout of the pockets 63 of the flights 61 and 62 as illustrated in Fig. Lland fall upon the inner ends of the supports 10 and 11. The wall of eachpocket 63 is curved up as illustrated in F ig. 1 to retain each rodwhile passing down the back of the machine and until the rod isdeposited on the supports 11 and 12.

Forthe purpose of preventing the signs from coming into contact with theworking parts of the device, a shield frame I is constructed over theshaft 1S and the gudgeons t9 and is formed with a depending liange 611at its back to which is secured through perfor-ations 65 a lace or cord66 which is looped a number of times loose-ly over the idle roller 60and secured in place.

The method of driving the apparatus may be by means of a pulley 67mounted upon the shaft 4S or by any other suitable means desired. Thispulley transmits motion to the shaft 18 from which it is communicated atsuitable speed to the shaft 24 by means of intermeshing reduction gears68 and 69, the former being mounted upon the outer end of the shaft 11Sand the latter journaled upon a gudgeon 70 which is secured to the outerwall of the side 6. By varying the size of these gears 68 and 69, thetime of the exposure of the sign can be changed. The gear 69 hasconnected thereto a sprocket 71 and the shaft 2-1 has another' sprocketupon its end 72. Over these sprockets 71 and 72 a chain 73 is passed bywhich motion is communicated between said parts. A cover 7d may beplaced over the gearing on the outside of the inclosing frame to protectthe parts from dust and danger.

In operation the rods B which hold th-e signs or objects to besuccessively displayed through the aperture of the frame are picked upone at a time by the flights 31 on the carrier C and lifted into theposition illustrated in Fig. 1. The operation of the carrier D is timedso that the flights 61 and 62 which it carries, shift the rod which hasbeen lifted off of the liights 31 and mov-es it toward the rear of theinclosing frame. The rod so removed travels with the carrier D down atthe back of the frame and then up and over the inner ends of thesupports 10 and 11. As the flights 61 move into the position illustratedin Fig. t the rod falls out of the pockets or receptacles 63 on to thesupports 10 and 11 and slide down into place at the rear end of theseries of rods which are carried upon said supports. While each rodmakes the circuit as just described the sign which is carried by ittrails over the guard I and. turns completely around the idle roller 60.rI he flights 31 on the carrier C engage the rods in the grooves 32 saidgrooves permitting the flights to positively engage only one rod at atime and causing the flights to hold the rod engaged without moving outof place laterally. In Figs. 4 and 5 an alt-ernative construction of thecarrier C is illustrated. Secured to the sides 6 and 7 of the frame areblocks 86 which carry vertical rods S7 upon which slide vertically theblocks 88. Rigidly secured to the blocks 88 by screws S9 are verticallift-ing plates 90 which are formed with recesses 91 and shoulders orstops 92 at their upper ends. The `stops 92 take the place of the stops15 and 16 in the previous construction. rlhe lifting plates 90 areraised and lowered by connecting bars 93 one end of which is secured tothe blocks 88 by screws 9st and the other end to gears 95 by screws 96.The gears 95 are journaled upon gudgeons 97 which are secured to theinner walls of the sides 6 and 7, said gears 95 being driven by smallergears 98 which are rigidly mounted upon the transverse power shaft 48.Normally the plates 90 are positioned in the g'uide openings 81 so thatthe stops 92 hold the rods B from sliding oft' of the front of supports10 and 11. Thus in operation the plates 90 are raised by the connectingbars 93 and gears 95 and 98, the recesses 91 engaging the rods D in thegrooif'es 32, raising said rods ottl of the front of supports 10 and 11,when said rods are removed from the recesses 91 by the carrier D whichtransfers said rods to the rear of supports 10 and 11, in the samemanner as previously described. It should be borne in mind that themechanism on the sides 6 and 7 is precisely the same.

The apparatus above set forth is positive in action and is adapted todisplay a sign nearly as large as the inclosing frame holding it whilewith prior devices the frame must necessarily be much larger than thesign or object displayed.

V1Where the term sign is used throughout the above specification andfollowing claims, I mean it to include any object that is manipulated bythe mechanism described to make successive exposures thereof through theaperture in the frame for advertising or other purposes.

lVhere the term flight or flights is employed in the following claims, Imean it to include any equivalent means for engaging and lifting therods carrying t-he signs.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described the principlesof operation of my invention together with the apparatus which I nowconsider to represent the best'embodiment thereof but I desire to haveit understood thatV the construction shown is only illustra-tive andthat t-he invention can be carried out by other means and applied touses other than those above set forth within the scope of the followingY claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to.protect by Letters Patent is l. Display apparatus, comprising, incombination, a supporting frame having two sides, a pair of forwardlydeclining supports between said sides, a series of rods resting uponsaid supports, each carrying a depending flexible sign, a chain carrieradapted to pick up the foremost rod of said series, an auxiliary chaincarrier traveling at a higher rate of speed andintersecting the path ofsaid first carrier and adapted to lift a rod from said'first carrier anddeposit it at the back of said series of rods on said supports, andmeans cooperating with said auxiliary carrier for turning said sign,whereby the sign .which is turned is deposited with its rod at the backlof said series of rods and with its same display surfacev facingoutwardly. Y

2. Display apparatus, comprising, in combination, a supporting frame, apair of forwardly declining supports carried by said frame, a series ofrods resting with their ends upon said supports each of said rodscarrying a depending flexible sign, a pair of belts disposed on oppositesides of said frame and adapted to lift the foremost rod vof said seriesoff of said supports, a second pair of belts disposed on opposite sidesof said frame and traveling at a higher rate of speed than said firstpair, said second pair having flights adapted to engage andV lift eachrod from near the upper end of said rst pair of belts and carry it backand deposit it at the back of said series of rods, leaving its signdepending, means cooperating'with said second pair of belts for turningthe signs as they are carried back leaving their same display surfacesfacing forwardly and means for actuating all of said belts. Y

3. Display apparatus, comprising, in combination, a supporting framehaving an apertured front, a pair of forwardly declining supportsbetween the sides of said frame, a series of rods resting upon saidsupports each carrying a depending flexible sign, the foremost signregistering with the ,aperture in said front, a link belt carrieradapted to piek up the foremost rod of said series, an auxiliary linkbelt carrier timed to remove t-he rod which is lifted from the firstcarrier, a guard adjacent to said auxillary carrier and actuatingmechanism for operating said carriers, said auxiliary carrier beingadapted to convey the rod and draw the sign which it carries over saidguard and turn said sign completely over and deposit the said rod at theback end of said series with the sign which it carries dependingtherefrom with its same surface facing outwardly. l

4t. Display apparatus, comprising, in combination, a supporting framehaving two sides and an apertured front, a pair of forwardly decliningsupports upon said sides, a series of rods having their ends restingupon said supports and adapted to move down the same, each rod carryinga depending flexible sign, the foremost sign registering with theaperture in said front, a earrier mounted upon said sides to engage theends of the foremost rod of said series and raise said rod, an auxiliarycarrier -mounted upon said sides and adapted to engage the ends of therod which is lifted to remove the rod from the first carrier and depositthe same at the back end of said series of rods on said supports, aguard over which the sign on the rod which is carried by the auxiliarycarrier is turned, and actuating mechanism fo-r driving said carriers.

5. Display apparatus, comprising,in conlbination, a supporting frame,forwardly de clining supports mounted upon said frame, a flexible signhaving gudgeons near its upper corners adapted to rest upon saidsnpports, a lifting carrier having flights adapted to engage saidgudgeons and lift them with said sign, and an auxiliary carriertraveling at a higher rate of speed than said lifting carrier and in thepath of said flights and adapted to engage said gudgeons while on saidflights, turn the sign over and deposit it with said gudgeons upon saidsupports.

6. Display apparatus, comprising, in combination, a supporting frame,forwardly declining supports mounted upon said frame, a series of rodseach having ends resting upon said supports and carrying a dependingsign, each rod having annular channels near its ends, a carrier havingflights adapted to engage the foremost rod of said series in itschannels, an auxiliary carrier adapted to remove each rod which islifted from the first carrier, turn the sign over which it carries anddeposit the rod at the back end of said series upon said supports, andactuating mechanism for operating said carrlers.

7. Display apparatus, comprising, in oombination, a supporting frame, aforwardly declining' support mounted upon said frame, a series of signsupports resting upon said declining support, a carrier adapted to piel;up the foremost sign support of said series, an auxiliary carrier timedto remove each sign support which is lifted from the first carrier,traveling at a higher speed than said first carrier and adapted to Carrysaid sign support down the back of the machine, then up and deposit thesame at the back end of said series of sign supports on said decliningsupport, and actuating mechanism for operating said carriers.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

BENJAMN B. BIENHOFF.

litnesses H. L. FISCHER, JULn DONOVAN.

